Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

New place to make county connections

A service to aid residents moves to the extension center building on Ulmerton Road.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published December 19, 2007

SEMINOLE - Five years ago, county officials figured folks needed a way to help them navigate the maze of Pinellas government.

So, they created three county connection centers - in the Seminole area, the Lealman area and in north county around Palm Harbor.

Now one of those centers has a new home. The southwest connection center has moved from the Pinellas Utilities building in the heart of the city of Seminole to the Pinellas County Extension Center in the unincorporated Seminole area.

The connection centers were the brainchild of former County Administrator Steve Spratt, who wanted to give people an easy way into the labyrinth of county government. His idea was to create outreach centers where people could go to ask any question they wanted about the county. If the answer was not immediately available, it would be found.

He set up one center in Palm Harbor to serve north Pinellas.

Spratt placed two in south Pinellas. One serves the eastern portion of south county. That center is in a new building at Lealman Park, 3875 54th Ave. N.

The Nov. 15 relocation of the southwest center became necessary after county officials decided to close the utilities building.

"We thought, what a perfect fit for us," center director Jane Muhrlin said in describing why the extension center was chosen. The extension center can be easily reached, has plenty of parking and lots of people already go there to explore the gardens or get gardening or other information.

It also has the bonus of having a different ambience than the utilities building's location on a busy highway.

"I'm looking right out my window and I can see the area where they do the composting," Muhrlin said.

When a reporter laughed, Muhrlin said she likes the compost heap and the lush growth it provides.

"It's nice to be surrounded by gardens," she said. "Unfortunately, I have not taken enough time and opportunity to get out there and walk around like I'd like to."

Muhrlin said that while the extension center gets a fair amount of visitors, the connection center's traffic has been off. That could be because people don't realize it has moved, she said. Or it could be the holidays.

But, "those who have come in have not had any trouble finding us," she said. "I think people are pleased we are here."

The two occasionally overlap and representatives of both can be found at many public meetings that affect residents on both sides of south Pinellas. At other times, the center directors show up at other meetings, such as informational sessions about road widenings. They also go to homeowners meetings and meet with other community groups that have questions about county government.

"We want to try to find ways to influence people to be engaged in county government," she said.

The connection centers also answer questions and met with mobile home owners who were being displaced to inform them of their rights and to try to help them find new housing or other solutions to their problems.

Fast facts

Help still available

To contact any of the connection centers, call 453-7394. Jane Muhrlin's direct number is 582-2560. Or go to the center's new Pinellas County Extension Center, 12520 Ulmerton Road. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 22:26:40]